Boxing promoter Don King filed a $2.5 billion defamation suit on Wednesday, claiming he was portrayed in a false light on an ESPN "SportsCentury" segment aired last May.
The suit, filed in state court in Broward County, Florida, names ESPN, ABC Cable Networks, Advocate Communications and Disney as defendants, claiming King was falsely portrayed as "a con artist and a thug."
"This case is one of the worst examples of reckless broadcast journalism and blatant disregard for the truth," lawyer Willie Gary said.
The flamboyant promoter, who has represented fighters from Muhammad Ali to Mike Tyson, has spent much of his career in court. He settled a lawsuit for $7.5 million with former middleweight champion Terry Norris in late 2003 and still faces a $100 million lawsuit filed against him by Tyson.
King also has beaten U.S. federal charges, including tax evasion and fraud.
Source: AP
The suit, filed in state court in Broward County, Florida, names ESPN, ABC Cable Networks, Advocate Communications and Disney as defendants, claiming King was falsely portrayed as "a con artist and a thug."
"This case is one of the worst examples of reckless broadcast journalism and blatant disregard for the truth," lawyer Willie Gary said.
The flamboyant promoter, who has represented fighters from Muhammad Ali to Mike Tyson, has spent much of his career in court. He settled a lawsuit for $7.5 million with former middleweight champion Terry Norris in late 2003 and still faces a $100 million lawsuit filed against him by Tyson.
King also has beaten U.S. federal charges, including tax evasion and fraud.
Source: AP